Tingling in Your Hands and Feet May Lead to a Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis
The symptom of tingling in a person's hands and/or feet often alerts your health care provider to the possibility of you having type 2 diabetes.
Whilst there may have been other signs and symptoms, they may have been treated as individual health issues and not thought to be related to type 2 diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels.
Type 2 diabetes progresses so slowly most people don't even notice the gradual rise in their blood sugar levels because the backup of sugar in their bloodstream occurs slowly, over many, many years.
It is not unusual to find a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made ten to twelve years from the start of the increase in blood sugar levels.
This high blood sugar level, among other things, is what is responsible for the damage to your nervous system...
this causes the "pins and needles" or tingling and numbness in your hands and/or feet.
Peripheral neuropathy, which tingling and numbness is a symptom of, is the most frequent type of diabetic neuropathy.
There is no set time frame for when nerve damage will appear, diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage.
It sometimes appears without any symptoms but then you may start to notice changes in a particular area of your body.
Usually your feet are affected first...
in the early stage you may experience some "tingling" or "prickly" sensations, especially at night.
If the damage progresses, numbness or pain becomes more common.
Signs and symptoms in your feet and legs are:
when numbness occurs this is a definite sign that your reactions to sensation are blocked.
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
there is a possibility he will want to organize a fasting blood sugar test for you.
This is the first step in helping to identify high blood sugar levels.
Whilst there may have been other signs and symptoms, they may have been treated as individual health issues and not thought to be related to type 2 diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels.
Type 2 diabetes progresses so slowly most people don't even notice the gradual rise in their blood sugar levels because the backup of sugar in their bloodstream occurs slowly, over many, many years.
It is not unusual to find a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made ten to twelve years from the start of the increase in blood sugar levels.
This high blood sugar level, among other things, is what is responsible for the damage to your nervous system...
this causes the "pins and needles" or tingling and numbness in your hands and/or feet.
Peripheral neuropathy, which tingling and numbness is a symptom of, is the most frequent type of diabetic neuropathy.
There is no set time frame for when nerve damage will appear, diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage.
It sometimes appears without any symptoms but then you may start to notice changes in a particular area of your body.
Usually your feet are affected first...
in the early stage you may experience some "tingling" or "prickly" sensations, especially at night.
If the damage progresses, numbness or pain becomes more common.
Signs and symptoms in your feet and legs are:
- burning sensations
- stinging sensations
- tingling feet when you sit down
- sharp stabbing sensations
- crawling skin
- numbness
- increased sensitivity to touch, eg.
bed sheets can cause pain - "pins and needles"
when numbness occurs this is a definite sign that your reactions to sensation are blocked.
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- being overweight, particularly around the abdominal area
- genetics, having a parent or another close relative with type 2 diabetes
- a history of high cholesterol levels
- a history of heart problems
- high blood pressure
- being aged over 40
there is a possibility he will want to organize a fasting blood sugar test for you.
This is the first step in helping to identify high blood sugar levels.
Source...